Operation Cedar Wood

Operation Cedar Wood (21 July 2006) was a disastrous US Marine Corps operation of the Iraq War that took place in Diyala Governorate, Iraq. The marines were pinned down on a road to the town of Buhriz during an operation to eliminate the al-Qaeda in Iraq foreign fighters in the town, and tens of them were killed when insurgents repeatedly mowed them down with RPDs and blasted them with RPGs as they arrived to attack. The operation was called off, and the insurgents won a propaganda coup.

History
The town of Buhriz was strategically located near the capital city of Baghdad, and it was vital to the insurgents as a base for their foreign fighters to attack Iraqi government and United States troops in the capital. US and Iraqi surge troops set out to eliminate the last pockets of insurgent activity around Baghdad, and the foreign fighters in Buhriz prepared to defend the town from the Americans. The insurgents took up positions in the town as well as on the bridge leading to the town, and insurgent snipers fired on American soldiers as they attempted to take the bridge. The Americans came under heavy fire from the open, so some of the marines decided to flank the al-Qaeda militants by moving on the ground underneath the bridge. However, the forces on the two flanks came under heavy fire from al-Qaeda militants advancing into the area, taking cover behind rocks and destroyed vehicles and killing several American soldiers. On the right flank, the Americans had to advance between the side of the bridge and the nearby hills and barbed wire, and they came under heavy fire from insurgents there. Eventually, the insurgents managed to force the Americans to wage a defensive battle against them, and the Americans were eventually surrounded right next to the river where their convoy had halted. Tens of American soldiers were killed when al-Qaeda soldiers camped in front of the area and repeatedly shot RPG rounds there or gunned them down with RPDs and other deadly weapons. The operation was called off due to unacceptable losses.